Ranma: The Crow
by nightcrawler89
Summary: One year after the murder of Ranma and Akane, a mysterious force resurrects Ranma to take revenge on those responsible. Rated M for a reason.
1. End of the first life

People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest.

Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.

* * *

It was a warm evening, the night everything changed. The Tendos and Saotomes were halfway through dinner. A cool breeze swept through the house sending a chill down Akane's back. After a minute of almost no conversation whatsoever, Ranma sat his chopsticks down and made an announcement.

"Well, I'm moving out tomorrow", he said.

There was another silence as the families processed what they just heard. Ranma just nonchalantly picked up his chopsticks and continued eating as if he had said nothing.

Then he winced as he heard a very loud "WHAT" coming from everyone but Kasumi.

Naturally, the first people to speak up were Mr. Tendo and Genma Saotome.

"How can you simply abandon you're duties to the Saotome school of Anything Goes, boy", yelled Genma.

Ranma simply kicked his father into the koi pond and continued eating. That is until Soun confronted him with his demon head technique.

"How dare you abandon you fiancé Ranma".

Ranma ignored him.

"Ranma can do whatever he wants. It's his life," said Akane.

This diverted Souns' attention from Ranma to Akane. He quickly broke down in tears as he said, "Oh my baby girl has become an old maid."

This set off Akane's legendary temper. The next thing Soun knew, he was in the koi pond right next to Genma.

Akane sat back down and continued her meal.

"Where will you be living Ranma" asked the always kind Kasumi.

Ranma took another bite of his meal before answering, "I'm sorry but I can't tell you that with Nabiki in the room."

"Ranma, when have I ever done anything to you to warrant such distrust?" asked Nabiki in faux-innocents.

Both Ranma and Akane raised an eyebrow at this.

Ranma quickly shrugged it off, "Look, I'm sorry for springing this on you guys all of a sudden. If I had said something even a week ago, everyone in town would know. One way or another. I just want a chance to live my life without every other person telling me what to do."

Kasumi took a sip of her tea and said, "We understand. Just don't forget to occasionally come and visit."

Ranma couldn't help but smile, "don't worry, I won't".

The conversation died out soon after. Akane remained uncharacteristically quiet the rest of the evening.

That night, at around two in the morning, Akane lay in bed, wide-awake. _Stupid Ranma. How could he just up and leave like this. I can understand going on a training trip, or a vacation, but moving out entirely. That's it, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind._

Just then, she heard a tapping at her window. She got up, opened the window, and came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"I was hoping you'd be awake," said Ranma.

"What are you doing here at two in the morning," responded Akane.

"I just wanted to tell you goodbye"

It was then Akane noticed that Ranma was holding a very large pack.

"You're leaving now", she said.

"If I try to leave in broad daylight, I run the risk of people trying to stop me or being followed to where I'm going to live."

"I guess that's true. Ranma, how could you just leave us like this? Were you unhappy, was it something we did. I know you and I fight all the time but I thought that even through it all, we were friends."

Akane started to tear up and Ranma quickly explained, "It's nothing like that. You guys are the closest thing to a family I've ever had. I would do anything for you guys. Even Nabiki. I just want a chance to live my own life. No fiancé's, no one trying to pick a fight every five minutes, and no one trying to drug my food."

There was an awkward silence between the two before Ranma looked her in the eye and casually asked, "Wanna come with me?"

Akane's eyes went wide. She quickly started to think of every reason not to go. _What will people think? I can't just leave my family. What will we do about money? What about school? What if Shampoo or Ukyo find out._

She sighed and noticed that she had left Ranma hanging. She looked at him and said, "Well my head says no and listed hundreds of reasons why I can't go. But in the end, I want freedom just as much as you do."

Ranma smiled at her, "Great, let's go".

"Wait Ranma, I have to pack first."

"No need, I got all you're cloths in my pack right here."

Ranma opened his pack for Akane to see. She quickly blushed upon realizing that Ranma had been in her underwear drawer. _I'll hit him for it later_

She then took Ranma's hand and they leaped out the window, over the gate, and into the night.

* * *

Ukyo couldn't figure it out but, some part of her told her that she needed to be awake at two in morning. As she cooked an early breakfast okonomiyaki, she stared out her window. _Why am I awake right now? It's not like anything's going to happen._

Just then, she spied Ranma and Akane run by. _Where are they running too this early?_ Before she knew it, she was running out after them.

"Hold it right there you two" she said.

Ranma, despite his better judgment, halted. He and Akane turned around slowly, awaiting the argument and/or fight that was about to ensue.

Ranma instantly thought of every excuse he could make as to why he and Akane were running around with a large pack at two in the morning.

However, all he got out was "…...hey….Ukyo."

Ukyo gave them both a cold glare. _They both look like they were doing something they shouldn't. Ranma is carrying a large pack and Akane can't seem to make eye contact with anyone. Oh my god, they aren't eloping are they._

"Where are you going so late at night?" asked Ukyo.

Ranma had an expression on his face like a deer caught in the headlights. _Ok Ranma, dad has been in these situations all the time. What would he do?_ Then his father's voice came into his head. "Ranma, when all else fails, lie. And if that fails, beg for forgiveness. And if that fails, run."

Ranma looked over at Ukyo, "We're going on a training trip."

"Just you and Akane," questioned Ukyo.

Akane nervously smiled, "Uh yeah, we needed to get an early start."

Ukyo eyeballed them both. _They're obviously lying._ She wanted to be angry. She wanted to be sad. After all, she just lost Ranma. In the end however, there was just something super romantic about the whole situation. She had a million thoughts that she wanted to vocalize. _I guess I never really stood a chance against Akane. Ranma, I love you but….you're not mine. _

She looked over at Akane, "You better take care of him Akane."

Akane simply nodded.

Then, simply to get one last jab at Akane, Ukyo walked over to Ranma and embraced him.

She whispered in his ear, "Stay safe on your trip and come back safely." Then she grabbed the back of his head and planted a small, soft kiss on his lips.

As Ukyo went back inside her restaurant, Akane gave Ranma a glare.

Ranma quickly interpreted the glare and said, "We'll argue later, we have to go."

* * *

Konatsu came down about twenty minutes later, wondering why the lights were on downstairs. He yawned as he went over the light switch. Then he heard a noise. It sounded like a sniffling. He looked around and noticed Ukyo huddled in the corner, crying.

"Miss Ukyo, what's wrong," he asked.

Ukyo quickly wiped her tears, "Nothing why do you ask?"

"Miss Ukyo, you know you can tell me anything. Now what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about."

Konatsu sighed, if she didn't want to talk, he wouldn't force her. He turned around to go back upstairs until he heard, "Wait."

Konatsu turned around as Ukyo said, "If you don't mind, could you please stay down here with me for a little while."

Konatsu didn't say a word. He just walked over and sat down next to here. The next thing he knew, she was leaning on him.

Seven years later

It had been seven years since Ranma and Akane moved to their small house just outside the city. Ranma had been able to buy it with some money he had made from doing several years worth of odd jobs around the city. They grew their own food since they hardly ever returned to the city for fear of being caught by one of the fiancés. Their lives were simplistic but neither would have it any other way.

Their relationship had changed drastically since they left. Sure, when they first got to the house, they argued for almost four weeks straight. All because Ukyo had kissed Ranma for exactly .5 seconds.

Several months later, Ranma had finally decided to man up and asked Akane, "You wanna go on a picnic tomorrow."

Akane smiled and just to rub it in asked, "Are you asking me out on a date Ranma".

Ranma could feel sweat starting to form on his head as he answered, "Yeah, I am."

They set up their meal next to a small lake that was near their house. Ranma had decided to bring with him a radio.

"I found this in the basement yesterday when I was cleaning it," he said.

"I guess some music would be nice", said Akane as she took a bite from her sandwich.

Ranma fiddled with the dial on the radio until he found something.

…_I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever._

Ranma got up and extended his hand to Akane. She smiled and took it. They must have danced for hours because they looked over the horizon and the sun was setting.

A year later, Akane was tossing and turning in her bed. _What's wrong with me? Why can't I sleep? I wonder if Ranma ever has this much trouble sleeping. Probably not. That jerk could sleep through a meteor shower or an 8-hour tape of Kodachi laughing._

At that point, Akane's frustration had gotten the better of her. She got out of bed to go yell at Ranma, simply so he could suffer with her.

She stepped inside his room quietly but something happened. She tripped over a dumbbell that Ranma had carelessly left on the floor. Akane had found herself now in Ranma's bed with Ranma who was fast asleep.

She was about to get up when she felt something. Warmth. Suddenly she felt Ranma's arm around her, pulling her close.

"You could have knocked first", he said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Akane lied.

"You woke me, the minute you opened the door."

"You were faking the whole time".

"Yup."

Akane sighed. Then she impulsively decided to get underneath the blankets with Ranma. She lightly punched him in the arm saying, "You'll pay in the morning."

They had been sharing a bed ever since.

* * *

It took almost six months for Ukyo to finally get over Ranma. It was freeing for her her. She was happier than she had ever been. There was no more heartache, wondering what Ranma was doing and whom he was doing it with. And there were no more constant battles with Shampoo or Kodachi.

She smiled as Konatsu came down from their apartment upstairs. He had been such a good friend to here since Ranma left. It wasn't long after her new lease on life that Konatsu had asked her out on a date. He had gone so far as to even dress in boys cloths for the occasion.

Then one date led to more. Now, Konatsu was coming downstairs with the most valued thing in both their lives. He held in his arms a baby girl named Keiko. She had been named after Konatsu's mom.

With the baby in their lives, neither one of them could stop smiling. She looked so much like her father but she had her mothers' eyes.

Their happiness would unfortunately be cut short.

It was Keiko's fifth birthday when a terrible tragedy occurred.

Konatsu was walking home with a birthday cake in his arms. He was only a few blocks away from Ucchan's when out of nowhere, a drunk driver ran into him.

"Momma, when's daddy getting back?" asked Keiko.

Ukyo looked at her daughter and smiled, "He should be back any minute with you birthday cake."

Several hours later, Ukyo was sitting in front of a hospital. She had sent Keiko to her dad's house for the time being.

A tear went down her face. _He's gone. What am I going to do now? What am I going to tell Keiko?_

After getting done with various paperwork and grieving for over an hour, Ukyo went home.

She started digging through the various cabinets that adorned her kitchen until she found what she was looking for. _I haven't seen you since I first got here._

She unscrewed the lid on the vodka bottle and announced, "To my darling Konatsu". Then she took a swig. The swig soon turned into a gulp. The next thing she knew, the bottle was empty.

Two years later

Akane and Ranma were sneaking their way back through the city. They were going back to their home after a visit to their families.

"I can't believe Kasumi and Dr. Tofu are engaged," said Akane.

"I guess a lot changes in few years," said Ranma.

Akane then turned around and gave Ranma a cute smile, "I'll race you home."

They were about take off when they heard a scream.

"Follow me," said Ranma as he took off in the direction of the scream.

* * *

"Get away from me" Keiko shouted at a group of four street punks that were harassing her.

"This couldn't be any simpler little girl. Pay us 2000 yen and you can cross the bridge and go home to your mommy. You don't want us to get rough."

The lead punk then grabbed Keiko by the hair and threw her down on the ground. Keiko looked up and found herself surrounded by all four of them.

Then suddenly, a pigtailed figure ran up and jump kicked one of the punks in the face.

"You shouldn't pick on little girls," he said.

The three remaining punks looked over at him, "This is none of your business. Now get lost before you get hurt, pretty boy." They each reached into their pockets and pulled out switchblades.

Then a girl with dark blue-black hair knocked another punk out from behind. She then quickly took her place next to the guy with the pigtail.

_Who are these people, _thought Keiko?

After the thought left her head, the remaining two punks were on the ground, unconscious.

The pigtailed guy came up to her and asked, "Are you all right?"

Keiko slowly nodded. The experience left her feeling light headed. So much so, that she passed out.

"What do we do with her?" asked Ranma as he picked her up.

Akane thought for a moment, "Let's take her back to our place until she wakes up."

* * *

Keiko woke up an hour later. She was in a strange room and had virtually no idea how she got there.

"Oh you're awake," said a strange voice.

Keiko looked around to find a shorthaired lady sitting next her.

"Who are you?" asked Keiko.

"I'm Akane, you wanna be friends" said Akane with a very bright smile.

Keiko nodded. Then she noticed a ring on Akane's left ring finger.

"Where did you get that ring?" she asked.

"Oh this, my fiancé Ranma gave it to me."

"How romantic."

Ranma soon walked in asking, "Is she awake yet?"

Keiko took one look at Ranma and then whispered into Akane's ear, "He's very handsome."

Ranma then took a seat next to his fiancé and the two of them spent some time getting to know their houseguest.

They didn't know that the whole time, they were being watched.

* * *

Ryoga drew back from the window. In the year that Ranma and Akane left, Ryoga had tried to focus on his relationship with Akari.

The relationship however ended badly.

"How could you do something so horrible?" shouted Akari

"I was only protecting her from that scumbag Ranma" Ryoga shouted back.

"Protecting her how? By turning into a pig and spying on her, or sleeping in her bed, or watching her change. What kind of protection is that?"

"If you'll just let me explain."

"Get out. I don't ever want to see you again."

They argued for another hour but in the end, Ryoga was in his pig form and being hauled off and beaten by Akari's sumo pigs.

As Ryoga stumbled away, the only thoughts in his head were, _fine I don't need her. I have Akane. I bet she's just waiting for me to come and rescue her from Ranma._

So, almost 9 years later, here he was. Looking into Ranma and Akane's house. Staring at Akane, her husband Ranma, and their child.

_He stole Akane from me and married her. That should be my child in there, not his. Ranma, you will pay._

He left, knowing he would be back soon. He decided to come back with help. He knew there had to be several people who would love to get revenge on Ranma.

* * *

An hour later, Ranma was standing in front of Keiko's house.

"Ucchan's. Don't tell me your Ukyo's girl."

"Did you know my mom?" asked Keiko.

"A long time ago."

"Wanna come in and say hi?"

"No, that's all right. I doubt she'd wanna see me."

"Ok, thanks for saving me."

"No problem. Oh, Akane wanted me to tell you that you can come over anytime you want."

With that, Ranma left.

Keiko walked into her house where she noticed her mother passed out on the stairs leading up to their rooms. Ukyo's eyes lazily opened, "Where have you been."

Keiko could tell her mom had been drinking again. She had been doing that a lot since her dad died. Not to mention, she had taken up smoking. Keiko shook her head, "I've been with some friends."

"You were supposed to come home to help with the restaurant," slurred Ukyo.

"I'm sorry mom," said Keiko as she walked over to Ukyo.

Keiko helped her mom up and they slowly made their way to Ukyo's room.

* * *

Over the next three months, Keiko had become a regular guest at Ranma and Akane's house.

"Here Akane, this is for you. Happy birthday" Keiko said as she handed Akane a box with a bright red ribbon on it.

"Thank you Keiko," said Akane as she opened the box. Keiko had given her a small black and white harlequin mask. It had dark circles around the eyes, with black triangles above and below the eyelids. The lips of the mask were painted black with two lines on each side to extend the smile.

Keiko looked up at Akane, "So what did Ranma get you?"

Akane looked over at Ranma and then smiled. She put her hand over her stomach and said, "He gave me something wonderful."

* * *

"I know where Ranma and Akane are," said Ryoga as he sat in the Nekohanten. He had made a point of calling together a party consisting of Shampoo, Tatewaki, Kodachi, and Gosunkugi.

"Well, spit it out," shouted the elder Kuno.

Shampoo hit Tatewaki over the head, "What point. Even if he remember, he never be able to show us. Lousy sense of direction."

"That's where you're wrong," said Ryoga.

"What you talking about," asked Shampoo.

Ryoga reached into his backpack and pulled out what looked like a compass. "I got this after accidently wandering into some ancient ruins. In simple terms, it's a magic compass. All I have to do is think of the place I want to go and it will lead me straight to it."

He looked around and asked, "Where's Mousse. I'm surprised he's not here."

Shampoo coldly said, "When great grandmother give up on Ranma and go home, Shampoo force stupid Mousse to go with."

"Too bad. I'm sure he'd enjoy getting back at Ranma and Akane for all the years of toying with us. All the years of pain and heartache, they caused. My life was destroyed because of those two. And it's time we paid them back for all of it."

Evil smiles appeared on everyone in the group.

"When do we attack," asked Kodachi.

Ryoga took one last look at them all and said, "Tonight."

* * *

That night, Akane sat quietly reading a book, waiting for Ranma to get home since he had decided to take Keiko home that night. _Why is it that in vampire books and movies, everyone seems to be in denial about their existence? Seriously, how could Oskar not realize that Eli was a vampire?_'

Suddenly, there was a knock on the the door.

_Who could be here at this hour? I bet Ranma lost his keys again._

Akane walked up to the door. She was maybe three inches away when the door suddenly burst open, hitting her in the face and knocking her down. She looked up to see Ryoga standing over her with an evil look on his face.

Before she could react, Ryoga grabbed a fistful of her hair and threw her on the couch.

Behind Ryoga, Akane could make out, Shampoo, both Kunos, and Gosunkugi.

Ryoga snapped his fingers and Tatewaki walked up and held an actual sword to her throat.

"Now you're going to sit back and shut up. When Ranma gets here, the real fun can start."

"Why are you doing this? What did Ranma and I ever do to you," cried Akane.

Ryoga didn't answer.

* * *

Ranma eagerly ran back home. Akane had been to the doctor earlier today. They had an ultrasound done. They both couldn't stop smiling because the doctor told him, they were having a girl. _I can't believe it. For the first time in my life, I'm happy. _Ranma soon caught himself smiling for no reason. His house was insight but something was off.

_Why is the door broken?_

Ranma slowly entered his house, finding nothing. Then he felt a presence behind him, but it was too late. Before he could turn around, he felt a searing hot pain on his back.

"How does it feel to be weaker than I am Soatome," laughed Gosunkugi. He held in his hands the torn moxibustion chart. At that moment, Ranma knew what had been done to him.

Ranma raised his fist to punch the voodoo practitioner in the face. Then, a red ribbon wrapped around his neck.

Kodachi laughed, "If you had only married me Ranma darling, this could have easily been avoided."

She dragged Ranma and sat him down in a chair. Then, she and Shampoo made sure he was tied down tightly.

Ryoga then stepped out in front of him.

"It's payback time Ranma" said Ryoga. Then he moved out of the way to show Tatewaki dragging Akane and throwing her down in front of him. Ryoga snapped his fingers and Tatewaki and Gosunkugi proceeded to tear off the struggling Akanes' cloths. Her struggles were in vain since she had the same moxibustion technique used on her.

Ranma struggled futilely against his bonds, trying his hardest to break free.

"One more thing," said Ryoga as he looked over at Shampoo. Shampoo moved behind Ranma and placed her hands on the side of his head. Her fingers then touched several points alongside his head. The next thing Ranma knew, his eyes were forced opened and he couldn't close them.

Ryoga laughed, "You get to watch as your wife 'enjoys our company'".

Kodachi grabbed another ribbon and used it to gag Ranma.

Ryoga, Tatewaki, and Gosunkugi finally finished "having fun" with Akane over an hour later. They left Akane on the floor in a state of shock, with tears running down her face.

Ranma wasn't in much better condition. His eyes burned from not being able to blink. His heart ached from not being able to save his fiancé from the bastards that he at one time called friends.

And after it was over, Ryoga and Tatewaki dragged him outside of the house.

Ryoga looked at Shampoo and Kodachi and said, "You know what to do."

As Ranma was being dragged outside, he heard various crashing sound coming from inside. The next thing he knew, he was being untied. Ranma quickly got to his feet.

He looked around to find himself surrounded by Ryoga, Tatewaki, and Gosunkugi. Ryoga quickly punched him in the face. He fell towards Tatewaki who punched him again.

In the meantime, Shampo and Kodachi had finished wrecking the house and hog-tying Akane so she wouldn't go anywhere.

As they joined the rest of the group, Ryoga again brutally punched Ranma in the face.

"Is she secure," asked Ryoga.

"She won't be going anywhere," replied Kodachi as delivered her own punch to Ranma.

Soon all of them, even Gosunkugi, started to brutally beat Ranma into a bloody pulp. By the time they were done, Ranma could barely move. He painfully struggled to get back up, if only to pay them back for everything they'd done tonight.

However, Ryoga would have none of that. He grabbed Ranma by the pigtail and drug him back inside the house.

"I'll kill you," wheezed Ranma.

Ryoga kicked him in the chest to shut him up.

Ryoga smiled, "You know, I'm feeling generous tonight Ranma. I've decided to let your child, wherever she is, live. Maybe I'll go find her when she is…of age. And as an added bonus, I'll let you die with your little whore wife."

Ryoga walked over to where Akane was tied up and dragged her over and next to Ranma.

"I hope you two have a happy last few moments," he said as he exited the door.

He turned to the rest of the group and said, "Burn it"

Within minutes, the whole house was aflame and Ryoga and his group had vanished into the night.

Inside the house, Akane had managed to get her left hand free of the bindings. She used her hand to inch her way closer to Ranma.

"Ranma, get up. We have to get out of here," she cried.

Ranma struggled to get up but he quickly went back down. "I don't think I can make it Akane. It feels like my legs are broken. You get out, save yourself."

But as he said that, a large chunk of burning ceiling came down on Akane. Akane cried out in pain as it pinned her down.

"AKANE" Ranma cried out.

Akane looked up at her fiancé, her eyes filled with sorrow. She cried, not in pain but from all the things she and Ranma would now never get to do.

They couldn't start a family. They couldn't travel the world. They couldn't run the schools. However, there was one thing that they could do, even if it wouldn't matter after that night.

Akane reached out and grabbed Ranma's hand, "Ranma, what should we name our baby."

A solemn tear went down Ranma's cheek, "I don't know, what do you think."

"How about Sakura?"

"No, to generic."

"Ok then, Saeko"

"No. How about, Megumi?"

"Almost, but not quiet."

"Oh wait, I know. We could name her Noriko."

"I love it and I love you Ranma."

"I love you Aka—"

However, before Ranma could finish, the rest of the ceiling caved in on them.

* * *

Keiko was flipping through channels on the TV. It being Sunday, there were hardly any cartoons on and they couldn't afford cable. Then, a picture caught her eye. She couldn't figure out where she'd seen the sight before but then it hit her. It was the spot where Ranma and Akane's house should be. But all that was left was ashes and rubble.

The news reporter was rambling on, "The authorities were alerted to the fire by several students who were camping near the area. The fire appears to be arson but so far, there are no suspects. Police have found clues to identify the two residents. They are Ranma Soatome and Akane Tendo."

Keiko quickly turned off the TV. It couldn't be true. They were her friends. The never hurt anybody. And now they were gone.

The only other time that Keiko had cried that much was the day she found out her dad died. She left her room and laid down next to her mother who was too hung-over to notice her.

* * *

The funeral came and went. At the request of the the Saotome and Tendo families, all of Ranma and Akane's closest friends attended.

"He was my friend, he was my rival. I'll miss him," said Ryoga as he stepped down from the front of the church and took a seat next to Ukyo.

"That was really nice, what you said," said Ukyo. She decided to sober up for this event. Granted as soon as she got back, she would give a toast to Ranma and Akane.

"Thanks Ukyo" said Ryoga in mock shyness. He noticed a little girl sitting next to her. She looked familiar but I couldn't figure out where he'd seen her before. Ukyo soon interrupted his train of thought.

"Wanna join me for a drink tonight," she asked.

"Uhh…sure" replied Ryoga.

They decided to finish their conversation later. For now, they looked towards the front as Shampoo got up to speak.

It had been over a years since the tragic deaths of Ranma and Akane.

* * *

Keiko placed a single rose on their gravesites as they had been buried next to each other.

"I miss you guys so much. Mom hasn't been much help. She and that Ryoga guy go out at night and come home reeking of alcohol. I hate him so much. He's always treating me like I'm four. Well, I guess I'll bug you guys some other time."

As she left, a large crow flew overhead and landed on Ranma's headstone. The crow squawked several times and then started pecking Ranma's headstone.

The crow looked over the grave and suddenly, the ground started to move a little. As time went on, the movement became more erratic.

The ground eventually started shifting and soon, a hand emerged from the dirt.


	2. I'm not a killer

_Where am I?_

He looked around for a clue as to his whereabouts. The first thing he noticed was what appeared to be headstones.

_Ok, I'm in a cemetery. Damn, why can't I remember anything?_

He looked around some more and found a head stone of particular interest.

The headstone read:

Ranma Saotome. 1985-2010, Beloved Son, fiancé, friend.

_No, that can't be right. I'm not dead. Someone has to be messing with me._

He looked over the headstone next to his and to his horror, it read:

Akane Tendo. 1985-2010, Beloved Daughter, fiancé, friend.

Ranma reeled back in horror, he could feel his eyes mist over and then he saw a large crow sitting on his grave. It cawed and Ranma clutched his head as a wave of memories started to flood into him.

_He grinned as he Akane, "You wanna come with me". It was the night they left for their new life_

"_Akane, we've been together for almost 3 years," he said over dinner one night._

"_Is something wrong Ranma" asked Akane._

"_No, but I think it's time we made something official."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

_He got down on one knee and took hold of Akane's left hand, "Akane, I love you more than anything. I don't ever want to spend another day without you. I know you and I don't always get along but will you marry me?"_

_Akane's eyes started to shine as she jumped Ranma and started to kiss him like there was no tomorrow._

"_Of course I will marry you. I love you Ranma Saotome."_

_He slid the simple ring on her and continued kissing her. _

_They made love for the first time that night_

_Then the flashbacks took him to a much darker night. He saw the faces of people who he once called his friends. He saw Ryoga, Shampoo, Kadachi and Tatewaki Kuno, and Gosunkugi. Then he was inside a burning building, holding Akane's hand as the ceiling collapsed on them._

Ranma quickly snapped back into reality. It was true. He was dead. But then, why was he here.

_I have to get home_.

The walk home seemed to take forever. Ranma didn't remember it taking so long before. Why was he alive? Ranma felt his chest. No heartbeat, in fact he couldn't feel a thing.

_That's weird._

Ranma had been so distracted that he didn't noticed that he had walked into oncoming traffic. However, that soon changed when he was hit by an SUV going at least 60 miles an hour.

Ranma stared up at the sky in a slight daze. He didn't feel any of that. His body was lying mangled on the side of the street and he felt nothing. He just got up and his body seemed to fix itself.

"Oh my god, are you all right," asked the driver. He came out running out of his car, freaking out.

Ranma looked over, almost not believing what happened.

"I'm fine," he said. Then, he noticed a crowd start to form around him. So, thinking quickly, he used the Saotome secret technique.

He ran away.

* * *

Nabiki sighed as she sat down in her simple desk chair. The years for her had been long and tiresome. It seemed that ever since Ranma and Akane moved away, the chaos that was always present in their lives went with them. And after they died it seemed like a little bit of Nerima died with them.

In the years after Ranma and Akane left, Nabiki no longer felt the spark she usually felt whenever she scammed someone out of their money. The spark however reignited as she found a new passion, law enforcement. She started out as a simple patrol officer then five years later, she was a detective.

Still, even with all the dangers that came with her job, she felt bored. To top it off, she had made no progress into finding any clues as to the identity of the arsonist that murdered her sister and her almost brother in law.

She was about to get up and go grab some coffee when one of the rookies came up to her with a very amused look on his face.

"Hey Tendo, You should come see this video that we just got in."

Nabiki looked over at him. His name was Raye Matsuda. He was one of those rookies that joined the police force every year simply so he could carry a gun and bask in the glory of any heroic deed that he happen to handle competently. He even had the gall to hit on her when they first met. She would have punched him in the face had she not been standing in front of her superior at the time.

"Why should I watch your video?" she asked with her usual bored expression.

"Because you won't believe what's on it," he said.

Nabiki sighed and held out her hand, "One thousand yen".

"Seriously" asked Raye.

"I do have better things to do"

"Fine"

Nabiki let out a slight grin as Raye handed her the money. Old habits died hard.

She got out of her chair and followed the gung-ho rookie over to a TV set where several other officers gathered around.

"Ok, play it," said Raye.

The officer nearest to the VCR pressed play. The image on the TV showed a particularly busy street. It seemed like a normal day until some guy wondered out into the street.

The officers around the TV all jumped back a bit when the guy in the street was hit by an SUV.

Even Nabiki couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face when the guy got up and Ran off as if he hadn't been hurt at all. She didn't get a good look but she could have sworn that the guy who had been hit had a pigtail. He almost looked like someone she used to know.

"This has to be fake," she said.

Raye spoke up, "No it's real. We had it checked out."

Nabiki soon walked away. Since no one seemed to be hurt, she'd just let the insurance companies handle it.

* * *

Ranma had eventually made his way back to what remained of his home.

_This place has seen better days, _he thought as he walked through the burnt remains.

He noticed that the crow from the cemetery had followed him all the way home. It cawed as flew overhead and perched itself on what remained of the doorway.

As Ranma passed through the doorway, another memory flashed before Ranma's eyes.

_He watched Keiko looked up at Akane and ask, "So what did Ranma get you?"_

_Akane looked over at him and then smiled. Then she put her hand over her stomach and said, "He gave me something wonderful."_

Ranma silently whispered the name, "Noriko". She hadn't even been born yet but Ranma loved her as much as he loved Akane. Then they were both taken from him.

As the crow made another noise, he remembered his last words to Ryoga.

"_I'll kill you"_

He quickly snapped out of his memories. No, he couldn't do that. He wasn't a killer. He was better than that. But then he remembered the incident with Saffron. He'd been willing to kill him for Akane's sake.

Well fine then. Maybe that was the reason he was standing in his ruined house. And he was never one to go back on his word. It was time for something he would call justice.

Just then, the floorboards gave way underneath him. He looked up to find himself in the basement. And much to his surprise, it was almost entirely intact. The fire hadn't even touched it. The only thing wrong was that there were large piles of dust from over a year of neglect.

As Ranma stood up, he noticed something wrong with his left leg. A chunk of floorboard had somehow lodged its way through it.

Ranma sighed as he pulled it out. Then to his surprise, black ash seemed to swirl around inside his leg. The ash seemed to be rebuilding until Ranma found that his leg had been healed completely. There wasn't even a scar.

"Now that's interesting," he remarked.

Ranma heard a fluttering noise and looked around to find that the crow had joined him in the basement. The crow was perched just above a piece of rubble that had fallen with Ranma. It cawed to get Ranma's attention.

Ranma looked over and got a good look at the the piece of rubble that the crow was perched over. It was the mask that Keiko had given Akane on her birthday.

_I can take a hint_

Ranma picked up the mask. It was too small to fit on him but then another idea occurred to him. He walked over to a pile of boxes and found one marked, Halloween Costumes.

He remembered the first Halloween he and Akane had spent in their house. He had dressed up as Dracula while Akane decided to dress up as Joan Jett.

Ranma opened the box and started going through it. Then he found what he was looking for. A tube of white face paint and some black lipstick.

Ranma searched through the basement for some suitable clothes to wear. The cloths he was wearing were burnt and torn and he wondered how much longer they would hold together. Then he found a box of his cloths that he rarely wore anyway. Inside, he pulled out a standard pair of his black pants and shoes. Then he found a shirt that he didn't even remember having owned. It was a black version of his sleeveless Chinese shirt and wrist guards.

After getting dressed, he found a mirror and carefully applied the make-up. He looked at the harlequin mask and tried to mirror the design on it perfectly. He almost grinned. If he were still alive, he'd probably only be wearing make-up to mess with somebody.

The crow cawed and flew over to him, landing on his right shoulder.

Ranma looked over at his companion and said, "Don't suppose you know where I can find the people responsible for my new look."

The crow took off through the hole Ranma fell through and Ranma followed it.

The crow took Ranma through the city to the middle of the park.

It was dark when Ranma spied a faint light through the trees. He started to walk towards it. Within minutes, he was staring at Hikaru Gosunkugi. He had his usual candles tied to his head and was partaking in his usual hobby of nailing voodoo dolls to trees.

Ranma whispered to the crow, "I was hoping for Ryoga".

The crow cocked it's head and Ranma saw a vision of what transpired between Gosunkugi and Ryoga.

_Gosunkugi walked over to the table in which Ryoga was sitting._

"_I here you're looking to get revenge on Ranma" said Gosunkugi._

"_Maybe I am" said Ryoga_

"_I may not be a martial artist but, I have something that can help you. After all, Ranma was never one to go down easy."_

"_What is it that you have?"_

_Gosunkugi then reached into his pocket and pulled out a fully repaired moxibustion chart._

_Ryoga sat back in his chair and gave Gosunkugi an evil smile._

The crow then flew to the high branch of a tree.

Ranma just shrugged and used his umisenken to conceal his presence.

* * *

"Damn you Saotome" shouted Gosunkugi as hammered a nail into another doll.

"What did Saotome ever do to you," said a voice from behind him.

Gosunkugi stopped what he was doing and looked around. He found nothing, just darkness.

Then he heard the voice again, "What did Ranma Saotome ever do to you".

Gosunkugi decided to answer this time, "He always made me look like a fool in front of the girl I loved. Then, just to spite me, he married that girl."

"Did you ever think that she didn't love you?"

"If it weren't for Saotome, I'd have shown her how great I was. I would have made her notice me."

"Where is Saotome now? Don't you dare lie to me."

Gosunkugi had never had much of a backbone to begin with. He usually had someone do his dirty work for him. Now there was no one. Then, he felt something like a hard fist hit his back.

"Answer me," demanded the voice.

"Ranma Saotome is dead."

Another invisible punch hit Gosunkugi in the stomach and the voice demanded, "How did he die?"

"I and several other people killed him and his wife, my love."

Gosunkugi looked up to find someone very familiar standing five feet away from him.

Gosunkugi screamed, "You should be dead."

"And yet here I stand."

Gosunkugi started backing away, "Please don't hurt me. They made me do it. I'm just a victim of circumstance."

Ranma scoffed, "Victims, aren't we all."

At that point, Gosunkugi realized that there would be no talking his way out of a fight. So he reached into his pockets and pulled out several large voodoo nails.

"I can see there's no talking you into leaving Saotome," he said.

Gosunkugi then threw the nails, three of them hitting Ranma. Ranma just walked forward, pulling out the nails. Gosunkugi just kept throwing nails, until he backed himself into a tree. He had hit Ranma with ten out of twelve nails.

"You're good. I'll give you that. But me, I'm magic," said Ranma with a grin on his face.

Gosunkugi looked at Ranma's wounds and then to his horror, they each healed themselves in a cloud of black ash.

Ranma held in his hand the last nail, pulled from heart. He then grabbed Gosunkugi by the throat and held him against a tree.

Ranma smiled, "And now for my next trick".

Then he plunged the nail deep into Gosunkugis' chest, nailing him to the tree.

The crow flew down, perching on his shoulder, watching Gosunkugi shout in pain and slowly die.

"One down, four to go" said Ranma to know one in particular.

Then he heard a gun cock and a female voice shout, "FREEZE!"

* * *

Nabiki's superior had asked her to take Raye and check out the park that night. Apparently, the department had gotten complaints about some weird kid disturbing the peace. As they reached a fork in the path, Nabiki sent Raye off down one path while she took the other. Secretly, she kinda hoped he'd get himself lost.

Now however, she kind of wished he were here. It never hurt to have a little back up when dealing with a murderer. Even if the backup was an idiotic rookie.

"Turn around, slowly" she said.

As the murderer turned around, he thought aloud, "I know that voice."

Nabiki tried to focus her eyes. It couldn't be him. He was dead.

"Ranma. What's with the make-up?"

Ranma smirked, "What's with the cop outfit?"

"You're supposed to be dead"

"That's what I thought too."

Nabiki quickly remembered the dead body behind Ranma and asked, "Why. You're not a killer Ranma."

Ranma's smirk quickly turned into a frown, "He did something unforgivable to Akane and me."

Nabiki was in his face instantly, "What did he do?"

She heard the crow on Ranma's shoulder caw and Ranma said, "Let me show you."

Ranma reached out his hand and placed it on Nabiki's forehead.

She saw everything. She saw their faces and the look of their smug satisfaction. She heard her sister scream in anguish. She felt Ranma's pain and helplessness. She felt the heat from the flames on her face and the smoke filling her lungs. And she felt the love between Ranma and Akane as the met their end.

After it was over, Nabiki fell to her knees with tears in her eyes.

Ranma put his hand on her shoulder, "Can you help me find them?"

Nabiki wiped her tears, "Kuno still lives in his house. His sister lives in an apartment uptown. I don't know where Shampoo lives but I do know that she works for a five star restaurant in midtown. And you know Ryoga can never stay in the same place for longer than eight hours."

"Thank you" said Ranma. He was about to take off when he heard Nabiki call his name once more.

"Ranma, you didn't happen to get hit by car earlier did you?"

Ranma smiled and replied, "Maybe".

Then he took off through the trees.

Nabiki watched him go and said to herself, "At least he wasn't walking against the wind. I hate that."

Just then, Raye came stumbling behind her.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked motioning towards the body.

Nabiki quickly made up a simple white lie, "I don't know. I just got here. I was about to call it in when you came along."

* * *

Keiko was sitting outside her house watching the stars. Ryoga had left and her mom was safely hauled to her room.

"Ranma, Akane, I could use a friend right now. I wish you guys were still here."

She quickly walked around the house to the back yard. She quickly grabbed a few pieces of wood and some matches. Before long, she had a fire going.

She went inside and grabbed a bag of chestnuts from the cupboard.

As she threw them into the fire, she recalled a memory from her days with Ranma and Akane.

"_Keiko, you're Ukyo's daughter right" asked Akane._

"_Yeah" said Keiko_

"_Did your mom teach you martial arts? She was a very good fighter back when Ranma and I lived in the city."_

_Keiko frowned, "No, my daddy taught me a little before he died. But mom hasn't been the same since."_

_Akane put her arm around her for comfort. _

_Keiko looked at Akane's smiling face as Akane asked, "Would you like Ranma and I to teach you?"_

_Keiko smilled brightly as she accepted Akane's offer._

Keiko smilled at the memory and quickly, with blinding speed, pulled each of the chestnuts out of the fire.

She then threw the nuts back into the fire. _Only two burns this time. I need more practice._

Then she continued her training.

* * *

Ranma stood on Ukyo's roof and took notice of Keiko's training. He used his umisenken to sneak inside the house and grab a piece of paper and pencil. He wrote down a message for his former student and folded it in the form of a paper airplane. Then he sent the airplane flying towards Keiko and quickly left to for Kuno's house.

* * *

Keiko pulled her hands back out of the fire as she noticed a paper airplane fly bye. She quickly grabbed it. _Why is there a paper airplane flying outside at night._ She looked around and couldn't find anyone who could have sent it. She quickly put out the fire and went back inside.

She examined the airplane, "_Is that hand writing?"_

As she unfolded it, it became apparent that whoever wrote the note had bad handwriting. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was Ranma's handwriting._

She let out a small giggle as she read the note.

All it said was, "You're hesitating. Don't hesitate and you won't get burned."

Keiko quickly went back outside with her mom's giant spatula. After a quick patrol around the house, Keiko determined that there was nobody there and went back inside.

_Something weird is going on_.

* * *

Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews. They made me want to get done with the chapter quicker. I know this chapter isn't as long as the last one but in my defense, I'ts been awhile since i've written something this long. I also can't garuntee that future chapters will be longer than 2-5000 words.

I hope every like the chapter. And yes I am aware that I ripped of Daredevil. I just thought the line fit the scene, even if it was kinda corny.

Anyway, I'll try to have chapter 3 up by next week but I make no promises.


	3. Suspicions

Hey, I'm sorry this chapter came out later than I had planned. Anyway, I don't know when the next chapters comming but trust me, it's comming.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Nabiki let out a long sigh as the chief walked up to her desk. He was a very muscular man who was forced to spend most of his time at a desk. The result being that he was generally stressed and counted down the hours until he could go back home and get some sleep.

"Have we identified the body yet" he asked.

"Uh, yeah" replied Nabiki as she lifted a folder from her desk and opened it.

She started, "His name is Hikaru Gosunkugi. Time of death around 9:00pm, age 24, yadda yadda yadda"

"Any leads on who killed him,"

"No. All we can figure is that it may have been cult related."

The chief let out a sigh of his own. Then rubbing his temple he finished, "Just file the report, then you can go home."

"Yes sir. By the way, I've got some Tylenol in my desk if you want," said Nabiki.

"Goodnight Tendo", groaned the chief.

While walking to her car, Nabiki got the strange feeling that she was being followed.

She quickly turned around and to her disgust, found Raye standing there with his arrogant smirk.

"Hey Tendo, wanna join me for a drink" he asked.

Nabiki glared at him and retorted, "Didn't you get off an hour ago. Were you waiting for me this whole time?"

Raye slowly walked behind her and started to clumsily massage her shoulders. He leaned into her ear and continued, "Come on. You know you want to. You had a long day and no down time. Stay with me tonight and I guarantee you'll be completely refreshed by tomorrow."

Nabiki quickly pulled away. "Raye, when you made this plan you clearly forgot one crucial factor."

"And what's that"

"That we'd both be off duty and I used to live next to a martial arts dojo."

Nabiki then kicked Raye in the face, knocking one of his teeth out.

"Asshole" she remarked as she got into her car and drove home.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Ranma finally arrived at the front gates of the Kuno mansion. The crow had decided to make itself at home riding on his shoulder.

As the bird cawed, Ranma was busy formulating a plan.

_I can't just charge in there. The last time I was in that place, I had to deal with all sorts of traps. Although, I wonder…_

Ranma closed his eyes and concentrated. Then as the crow cawed again, a breeze quickly blew off a cloud of black ash from him. Then there was a redheaded pigtailed girl in Halloween makeup and black clothing standing in his place

_I'm going to walk right through the front door._

Ranma walked up the the front gate and casually hit the buzzer.

"Who is it as this late hour?" said a voice that Ranma instantly knew was Kuno.

She decided to play along with his fantasies, "It is I, your beloved pigtailed girl. I have returned from far off lands just to see you."

The gates of the mansion soon opened and Ranma slowly walked in. Kuno met her at the front door with open arms. Kuno for the most part looked the same as he always did, except for the fact that it looked like he hadn't shaved in a while.

Kuno quickly ran up and embraced her, "Pigtailed girl, oh how I've missed you. And I love the kabuki makeup."

Ranma eventually, and with great effort, pushed Kuno off her. She felt something kind of pressing against her shoulder however. She examined Kuno and noticed a small lump on his chest.

Suddenly, one of her memories came back to her.

_He sat in the chair being forced to watch Akane being raped by those bastards. _

_That's when his vision focused as Kuno removed Akane's engagement Ring._

"_You won't be needing this. No one will want a soiled bride"_

_Ranma continued struggling in his chair, yelling muffled profanities._

Ranma clenched her teeth and allowed Kuno to hug her once again. Kuno simply thought his loves' hands were caressing him until he felt a tug at the chain he wore. Ranma felt her anger levels rise as she confirmed what she had feared.

"Oh Kuno, can I ask what this is" she asked as she held the ring up to Kuno's face.

Kuno quickly took the ring back from her, "It is a token from a lost love of mine."

"And who is this girl who you apparently loved more than me"

"I could never love anyone more than I love you. An evil sorcerer tragically struck down the girl who gave me this ring. I was able to get revenge but I wanted to have one last memento of her. But suddenly I feel less lonely now that I have you back"

Ranma slowly walked behind Kuno and started to massage his back.

"You poor thing. You need to relax and let my hands do their work. Theres something I need to ask you though."

"Of course I'll marry you my pigtailed goddess."

"No not that. You always call me pigtailed girl even though I know you know my real name. I want to hear you say it."

"What kind of silly request is that?"

"Please, for me."

"Why"

"If you call me by my real name, I'd do anything for you."

"Your name is R-Ranma……S-Saotome."

"Thank you"

Then Kuno felt a sharp jab in his spine, as if someone had jabbed knife in him. Then he felt his body go limp and he fell to the ground paralyzed.

He looked up at Ranma, "What have you done my sweet."

Ranma reached down and in one swift motion, took the ring back from Kuno. Ranma then kicked Kuno in the face remarking, "That was for Akane."

And to Kuno's horror, the wind blew off a cloud of black ash as the beautiful redhead was replaced by someone who should have been dead.

"What are you doing here? You should be rotting in hell with the rest of your demon brethren."

Ranma kicked him in the face again, "She was my fiancé."

He kicked him again, "You killed her!"

And again, "You raped her!"

And one final time, "I'm sending you where you belong."

Kuno started to spit blood and a few teeth out. After everything that had happened, his mind couldn't take anymore. He started laughing and continued laughing until his voice was hoarse. Ranma just dragged him down to the water.

Ranma whistled until he could see small ripples starting to come towards him. The ripples started to get larger and then the head of Kodachi's pet alligator, Mr. Green Turtle started to appear.

Ranma once kicked the still laughing Kuno near the alligator.

"He's all yours," said Ranma as he started leave. He heard Kuno's last speech before Mr. Green Turtle devoured him.

"I should have known it was you. Nevertheless, it cannot be you. We killed you. There is no coming back. This is the real world. There is no coming back. THERE IS NO COMING BACK"

Then the rest of his words were cut off by the hungry alligator.

Ranma did not even bother rolling his eyes at Kuno's last words. He just placed the chain with Akane's ring on it inside his pocket. Then he took off for what was left of his home.

* * *

Keiko did not know what she was thinking that morning. As soon has her chores were done, she took off to a place all too familiar.

_Why am I even here? _

She slowly walked up to Ranma and Akane's old house.

_What am I even expecting to find?_

She walked through what remained of the front door.

_This is crazy._

She walked around until she found a very large hole in the floor. She peered down into the hole and heard a fluttering noise.

_What was that? What the heck is down there?_

Keiko remembered where the door to the basement was. She quickly went over to it, only to find out that it was already open. She sighed, it was bad enough that her friends were gone but now they were also being robbed.

She grabbed a piece of burnt wood from the ground and slowly made her way down. She heard the fluttering noise again. Keiko gripped her weapon tighter as walked around the darkness of the basement.

Suddenly, the fluttering noise got closer. Then Keiko suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, causing her to drop the piece of wood.

She swung her fist behind her but hit nothing but air. Then she heard the caw of the crow as it came at her with its talons bared. It was just centimeters from her eyes when she heard someone shout, "STOP".

The crow quickly halted in its attack and flew out of the hole in the floor.

_I recognize that voice_.

"Ranma," she called.

She looked over in the direction she heard the shout come from. Keiko gazed upon a figure dressed in black. She couldn't quite make out the face.

"It was you wasn't' it. You sent me the training tips. Your handwriting was almost a dead giveaway. And what's with the clown makeup"

Ranma remained silent and started to use his umisenken in order to hide.

"Come on Ranma. I know it's you. I miss you and Akane. It gets real lonely all by myself."

Then Ranma disappeared from sight altogether.

Keiko got mad and yelled, "Fine forget it. It thought you cared."

Keiko started to walk out of the basement when suddenly she felt a presence behind her.

"I do care" was all Ranma said before hugging her. Keiko quickly turned around to hug him back and let herself cry in his arms.

* * *

The station was a madhouse that morning. When Nabiki walked in, she quickly sidestepped several busy officers who were carrying paperwork all around the station.

"What's going on?" she asked the chief.

He sighed, rubbing his temples as he spoke, "Tatewaki Kuno was found dead in home this morning by his servants. Apparently, their pet alligator had a late night snack craving. "

Nabiki pretended to look shocked, simply so not to arouse suspicion. Ranma had been busy last night. Oh well, at least this time it looked like a natural cause.

Then Raye walked up.

Raye put his arm around the chief while commenting, "I don't know. Kuno dies the same night as that guy Tendo and I found in the park. From what I've heard, Kuno wasn't the most sane person on the planet. Maybe he could have been mixed up with whoever killed Gosunkugi."

The chief looked over at Raye and commented, "Are you missing a tooth Matsuda."

"That's not the point. I'm just saying that maybe Kuno was murdered by the same person or persons that killed Gosunkugi."

Nabiki noticed a look in the chief's eye. She feard what it would mean for her.

He looked over at Nabiki and said, "Matsuda may be on to something. You two look into it and report anything you find."

Nabiki internally sighed and said, "Yes sir."

Then when know was listening, Nabiki muttered, "Damn it".

* * *

Roughly, half an hour later, Nabiki and Raye stood in Kuno's front lawn. Nabiki tried to make herself look busy. She checked behind shrubs and walked around the house, pretending to be looking for evidence of murder.

Raye however was actually working. He was going through some old photos Kuno had in his closet. Aside from the numerous pictures of some pigtailed girl and Tendo's sister, he had found nothing. Then, the last picture made him raise an eyebrow. He had found an old school photo of the entire student body of Furinkan High.

_It's almost too coincidental. Tendo, Kuno, and Gosunkugi all went to the same school._

Raye folded the picture and placed it inside his pocket.

"Did you find anything?" asked Nabiki as she entered the room.

"No, nothing" said Raye.

* * *

Nabiki was already in the car and waiting for Raye. Raye had been held up by one of Kuno's servants.

"I think you may want to have a look at this," he said as he handed Ray a tape from one of the security cameras.

"Thanks" said Raye as he took the tape and entered the car.

Later that day, Nabiki received a phone call.

* * *

"Who is this", she asked.

"It's me. There is a legal matter that I want your help with"


	4. Burn

"Who is that?" asked Raye.

When he had gotten back to the station, he immediately popped in the tape he received from Kuno's servant. Nabiki had decided to go on a coffee run so he was left alone. Now, Raye had not lived in the Nerima area for long so he knew very very little about Ranma or any of his affiliates.

Hence, the things he saw on the tape were slightly confusing. There was a cute red-haired girl dressed like a mime from hell and she was getting very close Kuno. Then as soon as Kuno appeared to let his guard down, the girl seemingly transformed into a tall dark-haired man.

Raye paused the tape.

_Why does that guy look so familiar?_

A passing officer stopped to see what Raye was doing. Unlike the cocky rookie, he had lived in Nerima for over twenty years. He noticed the figure on the screen and couldn't help but point out, "That almost looks like Ranma Saotome".

Raye quickly turned around, "What did you say?"

"He looks kinda like Ranma Saotome".

"That name sounds familiar. Remind me, who is Ranma Saotome."

"Ranma was a martial artist that used to live around here. You should really ask Tendo about him. Ranma and her sister were engaged."

Raye raised an eyebrow. Another coincidence that was too good to pass up. However, he had to be sure.

"Is there any reason why the guy on the screen couldn't be Ranma?"

The officer just shrugged and said, "He and Tendo's sister died last year. They were inside a building that had been torched. Like I said, ask Tendo about him."

As the officer left, Raye ejected the tape. _Ranma, Kuno, Tendo…What's the connection?_

* * *

"So what will you do now Ms. Kuno" asked Kodachi's assistant.

Kodachi looked over her old home with a little nostalgia. She calculated all her options and finally responded, "Sell all my brothers possessions. I can no longer bear for them to be around me".

A single tear fell from her eye. However, in actuality Kodachi was just picturing the amount she would get from selling her brothers worldly possessions. The whole idea made her cry with joy.

"Make sure to burn all his pictures of Akane Tendo and the pigtailed girl. I'll be moving back in shortly."

Kodachi sighed, _If only the house wasn't so empty. Too bad my Ranma darling is no longer of this world._

* * *

Keiko sat in the park by herself. She was perfectly content watching the trees move as the wind blew.

_Why did Ranma want me to be here?_

Several people walked by but she just ignored their stares. Then out of the crowd, walked a lady police officer with a page haircut. The officer sat next to her pulled out a folder containing some papers.

"Is your name Keiko Kuonji" she asked.

"Maybe" Keiko replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I believe you were told to come here by Ranma"

"Maybe"

"Look kid, I don't have a lot of time. My name is Nabiki Tendo and I have some papers that I need you sign."

Keiko and Nabiki were soon busy going through some papers. After about twenty minutes, they were done. Nabiki soon got up to leave when Keiko asked, "Hey, when someone's dead, they can't come back can they?"

"I used to think that," said Nabiki. "Are you talking about anyone in particular?"

"You know what, never mind."

"I see him too you know. Maybe he's here to be our dark angel."

"He didn't come back for us. He said he can't be my friend anymore because I'm alive."

Nabiki sighed. She took the girls hand in her own and asked, "You want a friend to walk you home?"

Keiko looked up at her and smiled.

As they arrived at Ucchans, Nabiki had Keiko laughing at the stories of teenage Ranma and Akane.

"So Ranma pulls Akane through the bush, not relizing it's her. Then he starts screaming 'I love you' over and over again. Then he practically had a heart attack when he realized it was Akane."

Nabiki then did an imitation of the face Ranma made when he realized whom he was shouting his love too. Keiko laughed so hard her sides started to hurt.

* * *

Kodachi stared sat on the bed in her old room, staring at a picture she had taken from her brothers room. _Why did he choose Akane Tendo over me? I am prettier than she is. I am a smarter than she is. I am also richer than she would ever have been. If only she didn't use her temptress ways to control him. Oh Ranma darling, It's so boring without you here._

_I could see it in your eyes Ranma. You were practically begging me to set you free from your torment._

Kodachi quickly ripped up the picture in her hands and tossed them in the fireplace.

_I hope Akane is burning just like her picture. It's what she deserves what she forced me to do to my Ranma._

* * *

It was going to get dark soon. Ranma noticed the sun setting as he stared at a worn picture of him and Akane. A tear rolled down his face as he remembered her smile with perfect clarity. The crow had decided to perch itself on his shoulder. Ranma couldn't tell whether or not it was looking at the photo with him or was simply waiting for him to make the next kill.

Ranma spoke, not caring that he was basically talking to himself, "What happens when it's all over? What will happen when they're all gone? Don't suppose you can give me any clue."

The crow cawed and flew off his shoulder, to the windowsill.

"You're no help", remarked Ranma. He glanced back at the photo and decided that he could not look at it anymore.

Ranma would be visiting Kodachi next. Since Nabiki had forgotten to give him the address of her apartment, he figured he'd search the Kuno mansion for it.

He knew they all deserved what was coming to them and if he could, he would have ended them all on the first night. But there was just this nagging voice in his head that kept telling him, "you're not a killer". It was constantly in battle with another voice that kept repeating the name, "Saffron."

He was tired and didn't want to be out tonight so he decided, "Just one tonight".

That evening he left his home, leavening a torn photo behind him.

_What will happen when it is all over? _

* * *

_Where am I now_

The animal once known as P-Chan made his way across the streets of Nerima, obviously lost. He had lost his magic compass months earlier.

While fighting with a bear in the woods, Ryoga had lost his footing and fell into a river. He tried to swim out but the current was too fast. The next thing he knew, he going over a waterfall. When he finally made it out, he was several miles down from the bear and his cloths and his backpack containing the compass were nowhere to be scene.

All he had to do was make it to Ukyos'. While he didn't really care for her, being her boyfriend did have its advantages. At her place, he could get a change of clothes and some food, not to mention a little nighttime company. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to take any lip from that brat of hers. That girl pissed him off almost as much as Ranma did.

He turned a corner and found himself right in front of the place he wanted to be.

As he entered the barren restaurant, he noticed the brat outback practicing her martial arts. He paid her no mind as he made his way towards the bathroom. Before entering, he glanced into Ukyo's room to find her lighting up a cigarette while watching TV.

Ryoga simply turned around and went back to the bathroom. Then he heard the something on the TV that sparked his interest, but only for a moment.

"…Tatewaki Kuno was found dead in his home last night. Reports say it was due to an animal attack…"

Ryoga shrugged it off. After all, he never liked Kuno and his death didn't affect him at all.

He made his way up to the sink in the bathroom and turned the the hot water on.

_It's nothing to worry about at all._

* * *

Kodachi closed her eyes as she smelled one of her black roses. Now that the house was hers, she would decorate each and every room with their beauty.

But for now, she placed a single rose in a vase on the windowsill. The gentle breeze felt good against her skin.

"Ranma, Ranma, wherefore art thou Ranma."

Then, all the lights in her house went out.

Kodachi tensed as she heard a female voice whisper in her ear, "Don't look, don't look, the shadows breath. Whispering me away from you. Don't wake at night to watch her sleep. You know that you will always lose. This trembling adored. Tousled bird mad girl."

Kodachi turned around to find nothing but darkness. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

Kodachi looked around until her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room. It was in the far corner of the room that she saw the slim figure of a pigtailed girl. Her face was hidden by the shadows and their appeared to be a large black bird perched on her shoulder. Then in the next instant, she was gone.

Kodachi walked forward to and pulled out one of her spiked clubs.

That's when she heard the voice in her ear again. This time however, the voice was male.

"Don't talk of love the shadows purr. Murmuring me away from you. Don't talk of worlds that never were. Then end is all that's ever true. There's nothing you can ever say. Nothing you can ever do."

Kodachi turned around, and swiped at the figure with her club. She felt it connect but the figure still stood in the room as if nothing had happened. She watched her attacker pull the club out of his side and disappear into the darkness again.

She quickly grabbed her trademark ribbon only to have it snatched from her. Then she felt some ones breath from behind her. She jumped forward; spun in midair, throwing several black rose at her assailant. The roses connected with nothing. Then she felt something wrap around her neck and pull tight. Then the figure stepped out into the moonlight. That face, she almost didn't recognize it with the makeup. It was him, it could not be him. He was dead.

He spoke, "Just paint you face the shadows smile. Slipping me away from you. It doesn't matter how you hide. We'll find you if were wanting to."

Kodachi struggled to get free, clawing against the ribbon. But Ranma just pulled it tighter and walked up to wrap his free arm around her, effectively restraining her arms.

"So slide back down and close your eyes. Sleep awhile you must be tired. Every night you'll burn. Every night you'll call my name. Every night you'll fall again. You'll scream the animal scream and dream the crow black dream."

As he pulled the ribbon tighter, Kodachi barely managed to let out a scream. Her vision was starting to blur and her head felt light. Her arms hurt from Ranma holding her. She spotted the crow sitting at the windowsill, cawing. It was almost as if it were laughing at her. The creature flapped its wings, knocking over the vase she had put there. The vase fell to the floor and shattered. The black rose inside it had broken in half under the weight of the vase shards. Kodachi struggled to break free once more, but to no avail. Then everything went dark.

* * *

Ranma held the ribbon tight for at least ten minutes after Kodachi had stopped struggling. He almost smiled. After all, he'd thought she would appreciate being finished off while he recited poetry. After he was sure that she was gone, he exited the house with his winged companion.

He hadn't expected to find her at the Kuno mansion. But then again, he'd been having a weird kind of luck lately. He paused for one moment as a now familiar thought entered his mind. Three of them are gone now. What's going to happen after I kill the other two. The crow cawed several times then flew off.

"You could be a little more helpful, ya know," he yelled.

* * *

Raye had decided to call it a night. Maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, Nabiki was a highly respected officer. He couldn't just call her a murderer without any good evidence. He passed by her car and he glanced something that caught him off guard.

He spied two pigtailed wigs, one red and one black.

"I'd say that counts as evidence," he said to himself.

* * *

Sorry for being late on the update. I only really get 1 hour a day to write and 30 minutes of that hour is usually spent battling writers block. But trust me, I do inted to see this finnished.


	5. I love you Shampoo

"Leaving so soon," asked Ukyo as Ryoga walked out the door. She sat up on her bed trying to get her lighter to work while Ryoga was pulling on his shirt.

"I was just going to get something eat if you must know" said Ryoga.

"I can make you something you know"

"No thanks. All your food taste like cigarettes."

Ryoga walked out smiling as Ukyo gave him the finger. It wasn't long before Ukyo got out of bed and pulled on a robe. She sighed, sure Ryoga wasn't the most caring of boyfriends but at least he was a good lay.

Ukyo walked to her bathroom and got a look of herself in the mirror. She had dark circles around her eyes and she felt like she had been up for several days. She leaned forward and splashed some water in her face. The days seemed to be getting longer lately.

As she once again looked up, she saw someone standing behind her. She quickly turned around to face him but was quickly restrained by his strong arms.

"What do you want?" she yelled.

"Ucchan, I need you to listen," said the person holding her.

He let go and Ukyo got a real good look at his face. Tears started to pour from her eyes when she realized who it was.

Completely forgetting everything that had happened in the recent years, Ukyo enveloped Ranma in a hug.

"I thought you were dead," she said.

"Ukyo, what happened to you" said Ranma, pushing her off.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I've had someone keeping an eye on you. What happened Ukyo? You never used to drink or smoke."

Ukyo scoffed, "What I do is none of your business. You should just go back to your Akane if you are just going to lecture me. I bet you two have the perfect life together."

Ranma looked down, trying to fight back his anger. "Akane is dead and so am I Ukyo. I'm only here so I can take care of a few things."

"You can't be dead. You're standing right in front of me."

"Feel my pulse if you don't believe me."

Ukyo placed her hands on Ranma's wrist and arms. She waited for several minutes and felt nothing. Ukyo thought about her hug with Ranma, he was surprisingly cold. Then she felt Ranma's arms twitch and he fiercely grabbed her arms.

Ukyo felt her chest tighten and her stomach started to hurt badly. She tried to break away from Ranma's grip but he wouldn't let her go. The next thing she knew, Ranma was pulling her out into the hallway. He led her to a window and forced her to look out into her back yard.

There she saw her daughter standing in front of a fire. Ukyo's eyes widened as Keiko threw her hands in at blinding speeds. Keiko soon pulled out several chestnuts. Ukyo inspected her daughters' hands through the window and as far as she could tell, Keiko didn't have a single burn on her.

Ranma tightened his grip painfully on Ukyo and whispered into her ear, "Mother is the name for god on the lips and hearts of all children, understand. I did something for your daughter and she's gonna need you to be there for her."

Ukyo almost screamed out when the pain in her chest and stomach started to grow unbearable. Ranma put his hand over her mouth and led her back to the bathroom. He put her in front of the sink. As soon as he let go, Ukyo hurled a large amount of black sludge into the sink. After several minutes of hurling, Ukyo turned the water on and washed her face clean of the gunk.

"What did you do to me?" She yelled at Ranma.

Ranma looked her right in the eye and said, "I gave you a gift. Do not waste it. I have to go, remember what I said"

Ukyo grabbed Ranma's wrist, "Ranchan wait. Before you go, I have to ask you something."

Ranma paused and waited.

Images of Konatsu flew through her mind, "You wouldn't happen to have seen Konatsu on the other side, would you?"

Ranma looked down and sadly replied, "I haven't seen the other side yet. The time between my death and now feels like it was only a few seconds. I'm sorry I couldn't help."

Then Ranma was gone and Ukyo was left in her bathroom alone. The next thing she knew, she was on her knees crying. The shell of a person she had become was gone and she instantly remembered all the things that had happened in her life. She was finally ready to face them and move forward. Then she smiled because at that moment, she could feel Kontsu's presence. He was happy.

* * *

Keiko walked in from her nighttime practice session to find all the lights on in the kitchen. She looked in to find her mom with several bottles of alcohol in her hands. Keiko sighed, looks like she would be dragging her mom up the stairs again tonight.

Then her mom did something that shocked her. She started pouring it all down the sink. Keiko walked up to her mom, "Not that I'm complaining but, what are you doing?"

Ukyo looked down at her daughter and smiled, "Starting over. No more drinking or smoking."

"Since when did you decide to go back to being a good mother?" Keiko asked.

Ukyo winced at the question, "I deserved that. Look, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting these past several years. I know it's going to take a long time for me to make it up to you. So I'm starting now."

"Like I asked earlier, since when did you decide to go back to being a good mother?"

"Well, let's just say that I got a visit from an old friend and he helped me wake up."

Keiko had enough experience with adults being vague and in the past few days, that meant one thing.

She asked, "Did this old friend wear all black, have a painted face, and have his hair braided in a pigtail."

Her mom simply smiled as she poured the last of her alcohol down the drain.

* * *

Nabiki looked up from her computer to see Raye holding a pair of wigs up to the chief. As far as she could tell, they were having a pretty intense conversation. Then they started looking over at her and she started to wonder what that idiot rookie was complaining about. Suddenly, the chief burst out laughing in Rayes' face.

Nabiki smiled when Raye walked out, humiliated. Several minutes later, the chief walked up to her desk with a big smile on his face.

"You should have heard what Matsuda was accusing you of" he said.

"Do tell," said Nabiki.

"He seems to think you're connected to the murders that have been occurring recently."

"That is a pretty wild accusation. Can I ask why?"

"He noticed that you used to go to school with the victims."

"So do at least five other guys who work here."

"He also has some video footage of Kuno's murder. Anyway, the killer has a distinctive hairstyle and he found some wigs in your car that match."

"Yeah, I work undercover sometimes. My car is full of different outfits and wigs."

"You don't have to tell me. Although between you and me, I think he may just be a little pissed off since you kicked him in the face and knocked out his tooth."

"You know about that."

"The security cameras picked it up and we've been watching the video all day."

They continued laughing until Nabiki received a phone call.

Nabiki quickly picked it up, "Hello…yeah…I'll be there as soon as possible."

Nabiki hung up the phone, looked at the chief, and said, "I have to go, Kodachi Kuno has just been found dead in her home."

"Looks like you have a long night ahead of you".

Nabiki just rolled her eyes and walked out of the station.

* * *

Raye sighed heavily as he watched Nabiki drive. Sure once he got a second look inside her car, he found several more wigs and other various outfits. Nevertheless, he still had a weird gut feeling that Nabiki knew more about the murders than she was letting on. He was not about to let this go.

* * *

Nabiki once again found herself wondering around the Kuno mansion, pretending to do her job. Then her phone started to ring almost as soon as she was absolutely alone.

"Nabiki, it's me. Were you able to get the papers signed?"

"Yes, but I have my own problems to deal with now."

"What is it?"

"There is this rookie who believes I'm involved with your….activities."

"I'll take care of it".

"I appreciate it. Wait, do you mean that you'll take care of it or…..'Take care of it'"

"I have to go."

Nabiki then felt a presence behind her. She quickly turned around to find Raye standing behind her.

"Did you find anything Tendo," he asked.

"No, how about you," she replied.

"Nothing. You'd think with all the security cameras outside the place, there would be at least one inside."

"Yeah about that, when were you gonna tell me about the security tape you got last time we were here."

Now it was Rayes' turn to sweat, "Uh…I was reviewing it to see if there was anything we could use."

"And according to our chief, the killer was clearly shown on that tape."

"Are you accusing me of something Tendo?"

"Not at all. I'm just warning you to watch yourself."

_This chick is not to be taken lightly,_ thought Raye as they finished up their routine.

* * *

It was late afternoon the next day when a brick was thrown through the police station window.

"What the f***", screamed Raye when the brick hit him in the back of the leg. Nabiki casually walked up and picked the brick up. It had a note tied to it, which Nabiki quickly read.

"Hey Raye, I think this is for us" she said.

Ray quickly snatched the note from Nabik. All it said was: _Three down two to go_. Then there was an address and a time, 10pm.

Nabiki took the note back from Raye, "Looks like we have somewhere to be tonight"

"You're not serious," said Raye who was rubbing his sore leg.

"I am"

"That could have come from anyone. We could be walking into a trap."

"I know that, rookie. But we have no other leads and I plan on taking five other officers with us."

* * *

Several hours later, Nabiki, Raye and five other officers were pulling up to the address that was on the note.

"An abandoned building. That's not clichéd at all," said Raye.

"Are we gonna criticize it all day or check it out" said Nabiki as she walked inside the building.

Raye just sighed and followed her inside with two more officers behind him. Nabiki pulled out a walkie-talkie from her pocket and radioed the three guys still outside, "You three stay outside incase he tries to run. I call if we need back up."

They checked all ten floors in the building and found nothing. Then they got to the roof. Raye was the first one to get there. He quickly spied a figure sporting a pigtail and wearing a large black trench coat.

Raye quickly pulled out his gun and shouted, "FREEZE". Even thought he was trying to sound professional, he could help but smile a little. After all, as soon as he brought this guy in, it would probably get him on the front page. The only downside is that he would have to apologize to Nabiki for suspecting her.

He slowly made walked up to the killer to handcuff him. However as soon as he laid a hand on him, something felt wrong.

Nabiki and the two officers behind her had made their way to the roof to find Raye throwing a manikin aside, yelling in frustration.

"I told you this was a bad idea Tendo" He yelled.

"Shut up and come and take a look at this rookie," shouted Nabiki.

Raye noticed that Nabiki was looking through a telescope. Raye quickly pushed Nabiki out of the way and got a look through the telescope. He saw a couple dancing together on the roof of a building a few blocks down. If he wasn't mistaken, that building was a five star restaurant and hotel. The couple appeared to be a girl with bright purple hair in a red dress and a guy in black clothing with a painted face and a pigtail.

"Shit, we have to get over there," he said.

"I'm already ahead of you. I just radioed our guys on the ground. They're heading over there now," said Nabiki.

The four officers on the roof quickly raced off to the restaurant.

* * *

Earlier that day

Life hadn't turned out the way Shampoo had pictured it. She should be married to Ranma right now. She should be living with him in china and they should have several children by now. Well, one can dream.

Granted, she did help kill him. After all, if she couldn't have Ranma than know one else could either. At first, she was fine and didn't regret a single thing. Then a week later, she got a letter from her village in the mail. It informed her that that idiot Mousse had gotten married to a girl named Rouge.

After getting the letter, Shampoo had decided to never return home. She couldn't face her people again with her failure. In the year since getting the letter, Shampoo abandoned the Nekohanten and became the head chef of the five star restaurant she currently worked in. The pay was better and they gave her a free room in the hotel attached to the restaurant.

Still, she felt like something was missing inside her. Then as if someone had been listening to her thoughts, a letter mysteriously appeared in front of her face. She quickly grabbed it, noticing how sloppy the handwriting on it was.

All it said was:

_My darling Shampoo, please meet me on the roof tonight at 9:50. I have left you something to wear tonight in your room._

_With love, your airen_

Shampoo quickly crumpled up the letter and tossed it. She could not decide what creeped her out more, the fact that someone had been in her room or that his handwriting was almost exactly like Ranmas'.

She quickly returned to her room after taking the rest of the day off from the restaurant. She soon spotted a red dress that had not been there when she left for work that morning. As Shampoo looked at the dress, she had to admit, her stalker had good taste.

Shampoo impulsively put the dress on and at around 9:45, she found herself ascending to the roof in the elevator. When Shampoo got to the roof, a dark figure stood before her.

"Hello, Shampoo" he said.

Shampoo's eyes went wide, "Ranma".

Ok sure his face was painted and he should be dead and buried, but there was no denying it. Ranma somehow stood in front of her looking as handsome as the day Shampoo declared him her husband.

All rational thought left her. Shampoo no longer cared if she had to chase Ranma until the end of time. Ranma was hers and he would never leave her sight again.

His voice soon brought her back to reality, "I've been sent back, so I could be with you Shampoo. It's our destiny to be together. I love you Shampoo."

Shampoo's heart melted. She had waited for Ranma to say those words for so long. Shampoo quickly ran up and embraced Ranma. He was a little cold but she couldn't blame him, it was a chilly night.

"Do you want to dance," asked Ranma.

Shampoo looked up at him and nodded, "Yes. I love you Ranma."

And then they danced.

Shampoo soon found herself lost in his loving gaze and only a fluttering noise broke her out of it. She glanced over and noticed a crow sitting on the ledge. It seemed to be staring at her. She smiled at the sight. Ranmas' painted face and the crow reminded her of a story she once heard from her great grandmother when she was a little girl.

* * *

_Shampoo sat at the table enjoying her ramen as her grandmother spoke. She held out a large book full of ancient myths and legends._

"_Crows have always served as links between the living and the dead. They are known to carry souls the the land of the dead and sometimes if someone dies in enough sadness and anger, the crow can resurrect that person."_

"_Why would the crow resurrect someone in the first place, great-grandmother" said Shampoo as she slurped up some more ramen._

"_The crow resurrects someone so they can take revenge on those who did wrong to them. When that person does so, their soul can rest in peace. A resurrected person is usually identified by the marks on their face."_

"_That's not much of a story great-grandmother."_

"_It's no story child. Look here."_

_Cologne placed an American newspaper in front of Shampoo. Shampoo couldn't understand a single word in the paper, except the date: May 11, 1994. Shampoo looked at the picture in the paper. It was a young man with a painted face. He wore all black clothing and a crow was perched on his shoulder._

"_What does it say?" asked Shampoo._

_Cologne held up the paper and translated the English to Mandarin Chinese. _

"_It says, 'Vigilante murders local crime boss. Eric Draven, thought to have been murdered last year has spent the last few nights tracking down and killing the crime boss known as Top Dollar and several individuals in his employ.'"_

_Shampoo listened intently as Cologne continued reading the article._

* * *

Shampoo suddenly realized the truth. Ranma wasn't lying when he said he'd come back for her. Shampoo felt Ranmas' grip suddenly tighten. The crow that had been perched on the ledge made its way over to Ranma's shoulder.

"Shampoo, you killed my fiancé and unborn daughter. I could never love you. Goodbye Shampoo."

Shampoo suddenly felt the ground underneath her vanish. She soon realized that Ranma had tossed her off the edge of the building. Tears soon fell from her eyes as for the first time in her life she realized the truth. Ranma never loved her and he never would. He had killed her and she had let him.

Shampoo screamed Ranma's name one last time before landing on a car in the parking lot. It would later take the Japanese CSI team over twenty minutes to get Shampoo's body off the stick shift she was impaled on.

* * *

Ranma felt sick. He had actually proclaimed love to Shampoo. Ranma quickly shrugged off the feeling and turned around to walk back down the stairs. The crow cawed as it left his shoulder and flew down. As Ranma reached the door to the stairs, it suddenly burst open.

"FREEZE" shouted Raye as he burst through the door.

* * *

Like I said last time, I don't get a lot of time to write so there will be gaps of various sizes between updates. Oh and I decided to write off Nabiki being framed or accused of haveing something to do with the murders because, I didn't really know where I was going with it. And I wanted to focus the story more on Ranma's quest for revenge.


	6. Lets go home

Ranma didn't even flinch as the police burst through the door.

_Bring it on_.

"Freeze" one of them shouted.

Ranma didn't even dignify him with a response. The officer who shouted suddenly ran up to him with his nightstick in one hand and gun in the other.

Ranma quickly ducked under a swing from the nightstick and swept the officers legs out from under him. Before the officer even hit the ground, Ranma was able to drop kick him.

The officer recovered quickly and rejoined the rest of his group. Nabiki soon came through the door behind him.

* * *

As Nabiki soon caught up with the rest of her fellow officers on the roof, she saw Raye recovering from getting his ass kicked by Ranma. Nabiki took as few seconds to catch her breath.

She still had to pretend that Ranma was a psycho killer to fool Raye and everyone back at the station. She noticed Ranma give her a glance as Raye and the other two pulled out their guns. Nabiki had it all planed. She would run over and pretend to hit Ranma over the head with the handle of her gun. Then she would arrest him and slip him the key to her handcuffs.

The only problem is that her plan didn't include a certain loose end.

"SHOOT HIM" yelled Raye as he opened fire.

_Oh, crap!_

Ranma yelled in pain as Raye and her fellow officers filled him with bullets. Ranma slowly backed away to the edge of the roof. However, he did something that only she had noticed. Ranma smiled and Nabiki somehow got the feeling that the goal of her plan would still be reachable. She quickly pulled out her gun and fired several shots right into Ranma's chest and forehead.

Nabiki winked at Ranma who kept his smile as he fell off the side of the roof.

* * *

As Nabiki, Raye and the other officers made their way down in the elevator; Nabiki got an unsurprising call on her walkie-talkie.

"Uh...Tendo….we have a problem."

Nabike spoke in her casual tone of voice, "What is it."

"Well, we've searched all over this place and only found one dead body. We checked out the area where the other should be and he's not there. It's almost like he just got up and walked away."

Nabiki quickly exhaled, it was going to be a long night, "We're almost down. We'll regroup and figure out what happened."

"What was that about Tendo?" asked Raye.

Nabiki glanced at him and replied, "Let's just say our nights not over yet."

* * *

_Now what?_

Gosunkugi, the Kunos, and Shampoo were easy to find but Ryoga could be anywhere. He might not even be in the city right now. Ranma was soon brought out of his thoughts when he came to a familiar sight.

He sat down in front of Akanes' grave and all his worries were soon gone. And for just one moment, he felt like she was there to comfort him. The crow then decided to caw in order to remind him that Akane wasn't with him anymore.

Ranma soon heard footsteps coming from behind him and looked over to find and an old friend. Keiko walked up to him with several flowers in her hand. Ranma raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"You're gonna say that I shouldn't be here in the middle of the night right" Keiko placed her hand on Ranmas' shoulder.

Ranma laughed, "Safest place in the world to be. Everybody's dead."

"I just wanted to talk to Akane."

"It's really late Keiko."

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I'm not gone just yet. And it'll probably be awhile before I can leave anyway."

"But when you do, you won't be coming back again, will you?"

Ranma noticed that Keiko was starting to cry. Even if he was an undead killer, a crying girl was something he still could not handle. Then Ranma remembered something.

He fished around his pocket and pulled out Akane's ring.

As he placed the ring in Keiko's hands, he said, "Here, I gave this to Akane. I think she would like you to have it now. Now you'll have something to remember us by."

Keiko took the ring and then hugged Ranma, "Thank you. I have to go. Mom's waiting for me. See you later". Little did they know, they were being watched.

* * *

As Keiko walked home, she felt a presence behind her.

"Who were you talking to, brat" asked Ryoga.

"None of your business," replied Keiko, who decided to walk a little faster.

"You know, I always wondered how you knew the amaguriken technique."

"That's nice. If you don't mind, mom needs me to help out at the restaurant."

"So, how's Ranma been doing these days?"

"Who's Ranma? I don't know anyone named Ranma."

Keiko suddenly froze when she felt Ryoga's hand on her shoulder.

"I think you do know and you're gonna help me get his attention."

Keiko quickly turned around, "Leave me alone."

"Come on, all you have to do is scream for me."

Keiko quickly leaped into the air, hitting an unprepared Ryoga with a barrage of lightning quick punches. Keiko then leapt backwards, shaking her hands. Punching Ryoga had been like punching a solid steel wall.

"We could have done this the easy way brat, but that ship has sailed," growled Ryoga, who showed no signs of pain. He suddenly lunged forward, punching Keiko in the stomach and sending her flying into a wall.

"You didn't scream. Start screaming for Ranma now or else I'll break your fingers."

Then Ryoga felt a hard kick to his back that knocked him off his feet.

Ranma glared down at his former rival with the crow perched on his shoulder.

"What's wrong P-Chan, I'm not around anymore so you have to pick on little girls."

Ryoga quickly got to his feet. He didn't care how Ranma survived or why he now wore makeup. But for now he yelled out words that he hadn't yelled in a long time, "Ranma, prepare to die."

* * *

There was no point in playing it quiet now. Ryoga was the last one on his list. Ranma charged in, relishing the feel of what he hoped would be his last fight. As he was an inch away from delivering the first of many punches to Ryogas' face, Ryoga shouted, "SHI SHI HOKODAN"

The blast that erupted from his hands sent Ranma off his feet and through two walls. Not even the crow had been able to fly away in time. The blast had singed one of the crows' wings.

Ranma soon crashed into the iron fence behind the building he crashed through. He noticed that his arm was impaled onto the spiked tips of the fence.

_Something is wrong._

Ranma quickly pulled his arm free and to his surprise yelled in pain. He looked at his arm, there was no black ash magically healing him, just blood.

_Guess I'm doing this the old fashioned way._

Ranma quickly got back into the fight. He picked up one the bricks he helped loosen up, and threw it at Ryoga.

Ryoga easily brushed the brick aside. However it was only a distraction, as soon as Ryoga swatted the brick away, Ranma's fist him him directly in the face. Ryoga soon countered with a kick to Ranma's bad arm. Ranma clenched his teeth in pain.

_Since when did Ryoga take cheap shots_?

Whit Ranma distracted, Ryoga punched him has hard as possible in the gut.

As Ranma fell to the ground, spitting up a fair amount of blood, Ryoga loomed over him.

"You know someone once told me, 'every man's got a devil and you can't rest until you find him.' What happened to you and Akane, it was me who decided to bring together Shampoo, the Kunos and Gosunkugi. If it wasn't for me, you and Akane might just have been left alone. You were my greatest rival Ranma and I must admit that I will miss you when you're gone."

Ryoga had grabbed a large slab of brick wall and was about to smash it over Ranma's head when they heard someone shout, "FREEZE".

* * *

Ranma and Ryoga looked over to find Nabiki and six other police officers with their guns drawn.

Raye felt more confused than he had ever been, "Which one are we pointing our guns at Tendo? Are we shooting at the admitted killer or the killer in bad makeup?"

"Shut up and do what I tell you," snapped Nabiki. Nabiki was quick to notice an injured Keiko leaning against the side of a building. She couldn't order her fellow officers to shoot with her there.

Little did she know however that she was about to get her green light.

* * *

The crow suddenly flew up to Ranma shoulder and started cawing in his ear. Ranma recovered quickly and ran over to Keiko before Ryoga could stop him.

"Ranma your arm is bleeding", said Keiko.

"Don't worry about me. I just have to get you to Nabiki over there and you'll be safe," said Ranma trying to calm the girl down. In truth, he was starting to feel a little lightheaded over the blood loss.

Ranma picked her up and made a mad dash towards Nabiki. Unfortunately, in the blink of an eye, Ryoga was there in front of him again. He held what looked like a stop sign that had been ripped out of the street.

Ryoag raised the sign like a baseball bat, ready to swing at Ranma. Ranma quickly tossed Keiko over to Nabiki in order to get her out of the way of the blow. Ryoga hit Ranma so hard that the sign bent and Ranma was again left on the ground in pain.

* * *

Nabiki made a quick dive to catch Keiko after Ranma had tossed her. Nevertheless, there was no way she would catch her in time. Suddenly, another figure she hadn't noticed caught the girl seconds before she hit the pavement. As Nabiki recovered, she noticed Raye carrying the girl to safety. As soon as Raye had put Keiko inside a police car, Nabiki quickly shouted, "OPEN FIRE".

"Oh crap," muttered Ranma.

He could not blame Nabiki. She didn't know he was vulnerable again. However, in the end Ranma asked himself, "Does it really matter."

The police would gun down both him and Ryoga. Ranma would have his revenge and hopefully he would stay dead this time. But then he felt that there was still something unsatisfying about it all. As he ran towards Ryoga, a barrage of bullets hit them both.

Ryoga yelled in pain and anger as Ranma placed his open palm on Ryogas' face. The crow seemed to cackle with glee as Ranma went to work on Ryogas' mind.

"This is only a taste of things to come," said Ranma.

Ryogas' mind was flooded with images from the night Akane died. He felt hard fist smash his face until he felt like every bone in his body was broken. Then it got worse. He felt searing hot flames on his face and started to cough as hot smoke filled his lungs.

To those witnessing, it looked as though Ryoga was being burned alive. As Ryoga fell to the ground, his body dissolved into a pile of ashes. A cool breeze blew the ashes into the shape of a bird and then blew them off into parts unknown.

Ranma looked over at the police officers and gave them one of his trademark grins. He was bleeding heavily from his wounds. Nevertheless, he stood triumphantly with the crow on his shoulder. Then he leaped over the rooftops and into the night.

* * *

As he ran off, Nabiki, Keiko, Raye, and the other officers knew deep down inside that it would be the last time they would ever see him.

"What now Tendo? Should we go after him?" asked Raye.

"No, it's over," said Nabiki.

"So do we tell the chief that we let the murder go?"

"I'll hand the chief. All you guys have to do is go along with whatever I tell him."

They all knew it was crazy and they could all lose their jobs and worse over it, but they all agreed.

Nabiki then looked inside the back seat of her car, "First things first though. We need the take the girl home."

* * *

Ranma got back to his old house late. As he lied down on the floor, staring at the night sky, he realized, for the first time in a long time he felt spent. His pigtail had come loose during the run home so his hair was loose. His cloths were torn and soaked with blood. It did not matter though. He was done.

They were all dead and paying for their crimes in the afterlife. The thought brought a smile to his face. However it did not last. His mind was back to the subject of, "What now".

Sure, he lost a lot of blood but he was healing very quickly like he did when he was alive. He felt the air grow cold and it made him shiver.

"Akane" he muttered.

Then he felt a hand grasping his. He looked over and there lying next to him was the most beautiful angel in a white dress.

"Are you ready to come home with me, Ranma?" she asked.

"I'll go anywhere as long as you're with me Akane", said Ranma.

Ranma took a second to stare at Akanes' stomach. She knew what he was going to ask, "She's not with us. She's in a better place."

Ranma didn't know what she meant but figured he'd find out soon anyway.

When he and Akane got up from the floor, he immediately reached over and kissed her for the first time in what felt like forever.

As Ranma pulled away for air, he smiled and said, "Let's go home".

The crow squawked one last time before flying off into the night, leaving a single feather behind.

* * *

Just one chapter left. It will probobly be just a short epilog. I'll try and have it up as soon as possible.


	7. It can't rain all the time

"So what you're saying is that this Hibiki guy suffered a mental breakdown after finding out your sister got married. Then he paid some people to burn down her house. Then he murdered those people so they wouldn't talk," said the chief, with his eyebrow raised.

"I know it sounds weird but yes," said Nabiki. Even though she was usually very good at lying, even she felt a little uneasy about this one. Raye stood there with his mouth shut, feeling just as on edge as Nabiki.

The chief gave a heavy sigh, "Fine, good work you two. Now why don't you go home and take tomorrow off for rest."

"Uhh….Thanks chief," said Raye as they left his office.

* * *

"You really think he bought it," asked Raye.

"We better hope so," Replied Nabiki.

As they exited the police station, Raye couldn't help but ask, "So you wanna go out for a drink"

Nabiki simply massaged her temple and replied, "You wanna lose another tooth."

Raye got the message this time and quickly ran to his car.

* * *

Chief Albrecht sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh. He knew Tendo and Matsuda were lying. He'd seen the pictures of Ryoga Hibiki and He'd seen Matsuda's tape of Tatewaki Kuno being killed. Ryoga and Kuno's killer were not the same person. Their builds were different and the guy in the video was slimmer.

To top it off, he noticed the makeup that Kuno's killer wore and the bird that was perched on his shoulder. It was almost too coincidental. That's why he went along with the lie. He knew knew one would belive the actual story.

Albrecht took a sip of his coffee and contemplated. He went through so much trouble to transfer and immigrate to Japan only to be involved in the same crap he got involved in when he lived in Detroit.

As he thought about it all, he started to laugh.

* * *

A week later,

"Are you sure you wanna do this" asked Ukyo. She and Keiko stood in front of the Tendo house, waiting for someone to answer the door.

"I'm sure mom. You know dad would have wanted me to continue my training. Besides I wouldn't have signed those papers if I wasn't," said Keiko.

"I guess you're right. Hey, if you get even half as good as Ranma, you'll have already surpassed me and your father."

Keiko thought back to the day after Ranma left. The first thing she did that morning was head over to Ranmas' old house. As she walked around, she could see no signs that anyone had ever been there recently. All that was left was a single black feather.

She then headed over to the graveyard where Ranma and Akane were buried. What she saw was even stranger than the empty house. Ranmas' grave had been filled and it looked as if it had never been disturbed.

So with a heavy sigh, she went home.

And now she was standing in front of the Tendo house, waiting for someone to answer the door.

"Please come in. Everybody's already at the table," answered Nabiki.

Keiko and Ukyo followed Nabiki to the table where Soun Tendo, Genma Saotome, and Happosai.

As soon as they sat down, Nabiki got right to the point.

"I've called everyone here to read a letter Ranma and Akane gave me before they died, for safe keeping. I waited a year to show you all this because I figured it would be the appropriate time to grieve. It says:

* * *

_To our parents,_

_Since we've know each other, our lives have always be chaotic. And for the longest time, many people have threatened the both of us with death. Moreover, you've been constantly pushing us to get married and produce an heir to the schools._

_Since neither of us have been known for our luck, we trained a successor should any unforeseen accidents prevent either of us from producing an heir._

_If we are not there to train her ourselves, then we ask you Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome to complete Keiko Kuonjis' training._

* * *

The eyes of Soun and Genma went wide at the revelation.

Soun was the first to speak, "Um…Keiko I'm not sure we can accept someone as young as you as a student. This lifestyle isn't easy."

Then Genma opened his mouth, "A little girl like you couldn't last a day in our fighting style anyway."

Genma was too full of himself to notice Keikos' battle aura flare up like Akanes'.

She calmly spoke, "Ranma said you would say something like that. He then said that if you did I should tell you this".

"Tell me what," asked Genma.

"You dropped a five yen piece."

"Really, where?"

As Genma searched for his money, Keiko quickly dashed over too him and hit him with a barrage of lightning quick punches.

As Genma lie on the ground unconscious, Happosai spoke up, "She's in."

Everyone quickly looked over in Happosai's direction.

The ancient martial artist took a long drag from his pipe while exclaiming, "Though I don't like to admit it, I'm getting old. I wasn't expecting to outlive Ranma and Akane. Being able to master the amaguriken technique at such a young age is impressive. And since she has Ranma's recommendation, as grandmaster of the Anything goes school I say we train her."

Keiko bowed in thanks while Nabiki spoke again, "Aside from the letter of recommendation, Ranma and Keiko also signed this agreement that would make Keiko the official owner of this scroll should anything unforeseen happen."

Nabiki pulled out a small scroll that Happosai quickly grabbed from her. He was quick to unravel and read it.

He looked over at Soun and a recovering Genma and said, "This scroll contains instructions on how to perform all of Ranma and Akane's techniques."

"We can't just let her have that" yelled Genma.

Nabiki and Ukyo were quick to shoot him death glairs.

"It's not your choice. Ranma and Keiko both signed the agreement and I was there to witness it. Legally, the scroll is hers," replied Nabiki.

Happosai pounded his fist on the table, "My decision as grandmaster is final Genma. We will train Keiko Kuonji starting tomorrow."

With that, Genma finally shut his mouth.

* * *

"Well that went well," said Ukyo as she and Keiko walked home.

"I guess so," said Keiko.

"Is something wrong hon?"

"I guess I'm a little nervous to begin training tomorrow."

"Well don't be. I'm sure you'll be able convince those old men that training you was the right choice".

Keiko looked up at her mom, "Is that the best advice you have? I was expecting something a little more encouraging."

Ukyo laughed, "Give me a break, I'm kinda rusty when it comes to being a mom."

The next thing they knew, they were both laughing as they raced each other home.

* * *

Kasumi should have been happy. She was married to the man of her dreams was starting her new life with him. Something however was missing.

Her bond with Dr. Tofu was so strong that she could tell he felt the same way.

The problem was that they had no children of their own. It wasn't for lack of trying either. After getting some test done, found out that neither of them were able to conceive children.

And now as they sat down for another quiet dinner, Tofu tried to think of ways to make his wife smile the way she used to.

Then they heard someone knock on their door.

Kasumi went to answer the door and opened it with her usual smile. As she looked around, she found that no one was there. Then she heard the strangest noise. It was the sound of a crying baby.

Kasumi looked down to find the baby lying in a box with a blanket in it. She was quick to notice the baby's dark blue hair and blue eyes to match. She quickly picked up the baby, looking around for whoever might have left it there. After finding no one, Kasumi went inside and the baby had all but stopped crying.

_Please take care of her for us_

Kasumi quickly turned around. She could have sworn she heard a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

"Who was it?" asked Tofu. Then his eyes went wide as he noticed that Kasumi had come back with a baby in her arms.

"Someone apparently left us this baby," said Kasumi as she cradled the baby. The instinct to do so just came so naturally to her.

While his wife cradled the baby, Tofu noticed a small piece of paper fall from the blanket that was wrapped around the child.

He picked it up and read the words written on it, "Please take care of Noriko for us."

Tofu looked over at Kasumi; she was staring lovingly at the baby and smiling the way she used to. At that point, his mind was made up.

He got up, put his arm around his wife, and asked a simple question, "What time do you want to go shopping for baby stuff tomorrow?"

* * *

"How" asked Ranma.

"I don't really know. Maybe it was just meant to be," said Akane.

"Is something wrong Akane"

"It's just that…"

"I know. You wish that could be us."

"If only"

Ranma reached over and pulled Akane into a loving embrace. Sure, they had been cheated out of their lives but Ranma said something that helped both him and Akane move forward.

"It can't rain all the time."

He then took Akane's hand in his and they departed for the world beyond, leaving all their troubles and worries behind.

* * *

If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.

* * *

I meant to have this up last week but, I never got around to doing it. After doing this story, I'm going to take some time off before starting my next fic.

Anyway, please R&R. See you next time.


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